Spoilers ahead…
Read the full review on Film Companion, here: http://www.filmcompanion.in/article/eeda-movie-review
Eeda (Here) is being sold as an adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, but the most defining scenes have little to do with star-crossed lovers. Take the stretch where Kannur boy Anand (Shane Nigam), who now works in an insurance firm in Mysore, witnesses a man being hacked to death. But after the attackers leave, he sees there’s some life left. We get the shot of an ambulance racing to the hospital. After all this, the man dies anyway, and we learn about this through someone else. Here’s another scene: Anand is at home with his roommate, who’s working on a laptop. The doorbell rings. The roommate has ordered in. Anand gets the bag with the food. The roommate gives him money, which Anand hands over to the delivery boy. The roommate asks Anand if he wants to eat. Anand says no. End of scene.
A different kind of filmmaker might have relished the prospect of staging a prolonged death scene. A man dies. Anand is distraught that he couldn’t help. The people around begin to wail. Imagine the opportunities to manipulate the audience! This other filmmaker might have also axed the food-delivery scene. Why waste precious screen time on a stretch that does not advance the story in any significant way? But these scenes define the film’s style, which is what every new adaptation of this archetypal love story needs. No one goes to a Romeo-Juliet movie to see what it’s about. It’s the how that makes or breaks each new stab at this old, old story.
Continued at the link above.
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Vivek narain
January 9, 2018
Solomon and Sheba,Duke and Duchess of Windsor, the only ones in history, are the most well known real romances. Cleopatra being the decadent queen can only be remembered along with Caligula.
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phaneendra201
January 13, 2018
I enjoyed this review very much. You were in great form while writing this review
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jaschek
December 3, 2018
Watched it on Netflix yesterday.
‘unshowy’, isnt that the right word to describe the romance.?
The scene where they meet again at the weavers, very very understated but somehow Nimisha was able to convey her heart beat faster. I did replay the scene more than once.
This is something I think is missing from every other movie industry inside India. I am jealous they are able to extract such natural performances from the actors, almost everyone. actors who played Dineshan, Leela, Upendran and others.
As for Shane Nigam, he does seem one dimensional in this movie. But I liked him in Kismath and C/O Saira banu, Now that I think about it, I think in the second half of all his movies, he has had to look sadly at a distance.
Also the Movie was a wee bit long, especially the third act.
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Vikram M N
October 27, 2020
Loved this review of yours. I happen to always like the reviews that you do of movies, which I don’t like.
Even I got to know that it’s a modern day adaptation of ‘Rome and Juliet’ through Wiki, which I was never able to find out while watching the movie. But why was it even necessary to be called so, is my question. Being practical is fine, I understand the point that their love is not shown in full glory, even the ‘I Love You’ scene is as chaotic as a Bangalore traffic. I loved the comparison of “they’ll be everywhere”. Also the scene where he takes parcel, and more importantly pays his friends money is lovely. We get to see that without any guilt or the bloating ‘friendship’ angle the film takes. It establishes how roommates need not be dear friends.
Scenes like these worked but the slowness I felt was infused unnecessarily. That’s what bothered me. Are filmmakers thinking that great films ought to be slow. I had same problem with ’96’ and ‘Annayum Rasoolum’ as well. But a ‘Gantumoote’ worked wonders for me, in fact i’d call this one of the best films in recent times.
Also the lottery ticket seller, I guess gives info about everyone’s whereabouts. He is a person who’s present everywhere but invisible. So people get info from him and he too gives info about anyone, he works for both parties.
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